


Your Body Will Haunt Mine

by twtd



Series: Look Into Your Own Heart [4]
Category: The Worst Witch (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, Introspection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-07-27 07:51:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16214690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twtd/pseuds/twtd
Summary: Hecate and Pippa and the next step in their relationship***It has been a long day, Hecate thinks as she pulls Pippa into her arms for the night. It feels unsettling, having someone else in her bed, in her space, even though it's Pippa, even though Hecate wants her there. Pippa shifts around trying to get comfortable. Hecate moves to help. Eventually, they come to a consensus that has Hecate spooning Pippa from behind.





	Your Body Will Haunt Mine

**Author's Note:**

> This is the final story (as far as I know) in this series. I hope everyone has enjoyed it.

Hecate and Pippa do not have sex that night. They return to Hecate's rooms after dinner, but after the third time Pippa yawns into a kiss, they decide simply to go to sleep. It has been a long day, Hecate thinks as she pulls Pippa into her arms for the night. It feels unsettling, having someone else in her bed, in her space, even though it's Pippa, even though Hecate wants her there. Pippa shifts around trying to get comfortable. Hecate moves to help. Eventually, they come to a consensus that has Hecate spooning Pippa from behind. Hecate is hyper-aware of the way her breasts press into Pippa's back, the points of her nipples hard from the stimulation. She feels the heat of Pippa's skin through her thin nightclothes as she rests her palm on Pippa's stomach. She tries to relax, to soften, but finds it difficult. Maybe they should have pressed ahead with the sex after all. Maybe if they had, this awkwardness wouldn't be a problem. 

"I can feel you thinking," Pippa says as she places her hand over Hecate's and pulls Hecate's arm more tightly around her. 

"I'm simply trying to get comfortable," Hecate responds. She presses her forehead against the back of Pippa's head, breathes in the floral scent of Pippa's hair, and calms just a bit, just enough. This is real. Pippa is in her arms and appears to have no intention of going anywhere until morning. Hecate shifts a little more until her body is content. 

"I love you," Hecate says once again. She has been saying it with regularity since that afternoon as if saying it again and again will convince Pippa of a truth she doesn't already believe. Anyone else would sound like a giddy teenager, but Hecate imbues each instance with a depth and seriousness that could never be considered adolescent.

"I love you too, Hecate," Pippa responds as she tangles her fingers with Hecate's and brings it up to place a light kiss on Hecate's fingertips. With all of the potions ingredients Hecate has handled over the years, she still has no frame of reference with which to compare the touch. It feels a bit like the fuzz on a caterpillar, a bit like the brush of air off of the tip of a raven's wing, but neither exactly. She will have to catalog these new sensations as they go, writing a volume just for Pippa. She would be surprised if this was the only new thing Pippa ever makes her feel. 

Hecate turns out the lights with a wave of her hand, retrieved from Pippa's grasp only long enough to make the gesture before it's pulled back in. She feels Pippa yawn and presses a kiss to the back of Pippa's head. "Go to sleep now," she murmurs and gets a hum in response as she closes her own eyes. Despite worries to the contrary, sleep comes quickly.

***

They do not have sex the next morning. Hecate awakens to find Pippa plastered to her front, head tucked under Hecate's chin and arms wrapped tightly around her. It's as if, even asleep, Pippa thinks Hecate might leave her. Hecate wonders how long it will take for her to make up for all of the hurt she's caused Pippa, all of the fear. She feels Pippa's eyelashes flutter against her throat and she knows that Pippa is awake. She nuzzles against the top of Pippa's head.

"How long…?" Hecate asks in her sleep rough voice.

"Just a few minutes. I was going to wake you up." Pippa kisses the column of Hecate's throat and it makes Hecate shiver. She goes onto her back with a push from Pippa and accepts the kiss pressed against her lips. Pippa settles next to her on her side as she leans into Hecate. "I want to stay here all day and just do this," Pippa says as she kisses Hecate again. Desire blossoms in Hecate's chest. It makes her skin tingle. It starts to fog her brain. 

"You have to get back," Hecate says only just keeping the disappointment from her voice. She knows that it has nothing to do with her and everything to do with Pippa's commitment to her students. Still, she can't stop herself from resenting them for just a moment, resenting all of the time they get to have with their headmistress that Hecate does not have the luxury of. But Pippa would not be Pippa if she, like Hecate, wasn't devoted to her students, so Hecate loosens her arms. 

"I do," Pippa responds. Hecate nods. Pippa tilts Hecate's face toward hers for another, longer kiss and Hecate loses her head a bit. She forgets that this cannot happen right now. She simply gives herself over to the kiss and she is startled and breathless when Pippa finally pulls away. It takes Hecate a long moment to release Pippa from her arms and even longer moment for Pippa to roll away and out of the bed. 

Pippa snaps her fingers and she’s ready for her day before Hecate has even pushed the covers back. If she was alone and awake this early, unlikely as that may be, she would just stretch out and go back to sleep. She knows Pippa would understand if that’s what she wanted to do now, but she can’t imagine not seeing Pippa off, so she drags herself from the bed and snaps her own fingers. She’ll take a proper shower later. They get her no more clean than the spell she just used, but they feel better, they give her a period when not even a student-created catastrophe can interrupt her. 

“I can’t interest you in an early breakfast?” Hecate asks, still reluctant to let Pippa leave. 

“Not this time, darling,” Pippa smiles sadly. She steps forward and wraps her arms around Hecate. “Soon,” she promises as she presses another quick kiss against Hecate’s lips. “I’ll mirror you tonight.” 

Hecate knows that “tonight,” is an easily countable number of hours away but it feels like forever stretching out in front of her. She does not pout but she does look slightly put out. “Tonight then.” 

Hecate hands Pippa her broom and they walk silently hand in hand to an out of the way courtyard, one where they can avoid all but the most dedicated of prying eyes. That, and the early hour, are enough for Hecate to feel comfortable kissing Pippa goodbye before Pippa mounts her broom and flies away.

***

They do not have sex the next time they get together nor the next. The first time they are thwarted by a minor explosion at Pentangle’s and the second by a head cold that Hecate insists is nothing but that she does not want to risk giving to Pippa nonetheless.

Hecate has never thought of herself as particularly libidinous but she is getting frustrated.

***

“How would you feel about going to my aunt’s cottage for the weekend?” Pippa asks as they mirror each other that night. They are the first words from Pippa's mouth, before even a hello.

“The one by the sea? This weekend?” Hecate asks already mentally talking to Ada and clearing her schedule. It isn’t exactly the season for a seaside holiday, but that’s no matter. 

“Or next. Or anytime, really.” Pippa seems almost over-eager and it’s then that Hecate realizes what’s really going on, what Pippa is actually asking. Hecate smirks. It is good to know that Pippa is as frustrated by the current situation as Hecate is, that she wants so badly to remedy it that she has secured a location as far away from their schools as possible and cleared multiple weekends to accommodate Hecate’s schedule. 

“This weekend is fine,” Hecate answers, her smirk turning into a genuine smile, though her lips stay closed. “I’ll speak with Ada.” 

Before this year, Hecate rarely took days off, and even still she takes fewer than the other staff members. A whole weekend is a luxury, but one she can afford. As much as she likes to think otherwise, Cackle's will not fall down without her constant presence. Her mind is already by the sea, but she can't let her thoughts get too carried away, not when the object of those thoughts is miles and days away. 

“Phenomenal,” Pippa says with a twinkle in her eyes.

***

Pippa's aunt does not have a cottage by the sea. In fact, she has a nicely sized house that only gets used four months out of the year that looks far too modern to be called a cottage anyway. Hecate was picturing something cozier and is almost disappointed. Still, she can imagine Pippa's extended family, people she's only heard about in stories, galavanting throughout the house and filling it up. Pippa's easy navigation of the space evidences those long summer days. Pippa flicks their bags away, presumably to a bedroom, even as Hecate is still putting her broom down.

"I know it was a long flight," Pippa says as she walks into the living room proper, headed toward what Hecate thinks must be the kitchen. "Would you like something to drink?"

"No," Hecate says as she follows after Pippa, who has really gotten too far away in the last 45 seconds. She catches Pippa's hand and Pippa turns around, a question on her face. Pippa gasps a little as their lips touch, as Hecate kiss serves as her answer. "No, I don't want a drink and you can give me the tour later." 

Hecate has waited, they have waited, too long for this, whether that's counting the thirty years of their entire history or just the 30 days since that afternoon in the botanical gardens. Hecate kisses Pippa again, letting their lips melt together and any other offers of hospitality remain unspoken. 

Pippa loops her arms around Hecate's neck and pulls their bodies together. "You're right, drinks are overrated," Pippa says, her voice suddenly huskier. With a movement, they disappear and reappear in the bedroom still wrapped in each other's arms. Hecate barely notices the transference. She is focused instead on the way Pippa is pressing herself forward against her body. She is focused instead on the twist of their hips together. Hecate reaches up and tugs at the zipper on Pippa's dress. It catches halfway down and together they make frustrated noises. She can feel Pippa smiling against her lips and it makes her smile in return. She pulls the zipper up a bit, then oh so carefully back down over the snag. She's successful this time and Pippa's smile grows wider as she almost bashfully nuzzles under Hecate's jaw.

"Do you want me to stop?" Hecate whispers against Pippa's ear. She can't imagine what Pippa might be embarrassed by, but reassuring her is more important than sating the need that has been growing inside her since she first laid eyes on Pippa that morning. 

With a deep breath, Pippa says, "Not at all," but she keeps her own counsel as to what caused the reaction in the first place. Hecate's wondering is cut off by Pippa's lips on her collarbone. She can feel the softness even through the fabric of her dress. "Now, you were doing a lovely job taking my dress off."

"I was, wasn't I?" Hecate responds as she slides her hands under each side of the split in the fabric down Pippa's back and peels it forward until Pippa is removing her arms from the sleeves and helping Hecate push the entire thing down and off. Pippa steps out of her heels and toes them out of the way. 

Hecate doesn’t try to stop herself from looking down. She goes silent and still when confronted with so much bare flesh. Her breathing turns shallow and the banked fire under her skin flares to life. Everything is laid out in front of her. She just needs to be brave enough to continue. 

"Is everything alright?" Pippa asks. This time Hecate can hear what Pippa isn't saying: Am I alright? Am I good enough? 

"You're beautiful," Hecate says, answering Pippa real questions and not the one she actually asked. She looks in Pippa's eyes and sees relief there. "You're perfect." Hecate cups Pippa's jaw and pulls her into another, deeper kiss. Hecate does not often give out praise, to her students or to anyone, but she will tell Pippa a thousand times that she is perfect if that's what it takes to get Pippa to stop questioning. The kiss lasts until Hecate feels Pippa's nails scratching at her hairline. It makes Hecate shiver, sends sparks down her body. She opens her eyes and looks down at Pippa. 

"Your turn," Pippa says as she indicates Hecate's dress. 

"Oh." Hecate blinks. Before she can move, Pippa is already there unbuckling her belt, untucking her blouse, unfastening her skirt. Hecate lifts her arms as Pippa pushes her blouse up and off. She uses magic to make her shoes go away and abruptly ends up several inches shorter. Pippa chuckles but quickly adapts and Hecate's skirt follows her blouse to the floor. They are both left in their underthings and as Pippa's skin comes to rest against her own, Hecate's mind goes blank. There is nothing like this, nothing that could have prepared her for this. There is only her and Pippa and the few molecules of air that dare to come between them. Hecate is dizzy with it. 

They come back together again, breasts to breasts and hips to hips, and now that they are here, it would take more than an exploded potions lab to pull them apart. It is good, then, that Pippa has pulled them away from their regular lives for the weekend. Hecate would be useless if they were to be interrupted now. 

The air in the bedroom has turned humid and close. Pippa pulls Hecate into her arms and out of her thoughts and Hecate goes willingly. "I love you," she murmurs into the warmth surrounding them. A thin layer of sweat gilds her skin. 

"I love you too, my darling," Pippa says in return as she unhooks Hecate's bra. Another flash of magic and Pippa's is gone as well. Hecate can feel Pippa's nipples against the curves of her own breasts and she sucks in a breath as she closes her eyes. It is all overwhelming but Hecate can do nothing for it but allow herself to be overwhelmed. Somehow they end up on the bed completely nude, Hecate suspects more magic is involved, but discovering the answer is beyond her interests at the moment. 

She is concerned only with touching Pippa and being touched by her. They move together, with each other, against each other. Hecate's head spins when Pippa's fingers find her clit. She loses her breath as she pushes her own fingers into Pippa and finds her ready for her touch. She makes Pippa come nestled between her thighs and Pippa does the same for Hecate while Hecate is cradled in her arms. Once is not enough, so the touches continue and continue. Hecate can see dusk descending as they finally come to rest against each other. Hecate breathes deeply and can smell nothing but them in the air. 

Her head is pillowed on Pippa's chest while Pippa idly plays with the ends of her hair, which she took down at some point she doesn't remember. 

"We should get up and eat something," Pippa says. 

"Later," Hecate responds. She is comfortable. Content. She splays her hand over Pippa's stomach and feels the way it rises and falls with Pippa's breath. Up. Down. Up. Down. She watches and waits, though for what she isn't sure. "Was it everything you wanted?" Hecate asks as she lifts her head and looks at Pippa.

"And more," Pippa says with a tired smile. "It was perfect. You were perfect." 

"Mmm," is Hecate's only response as she sets her head back down. She runs a finger over a stretch mark. 

"That isn't very flattering," Pippa says but she makes no move to make Hecate stop. 

"It's you," Hecate says simply. There isn't an inch of Pippa Hecate hasn't seen by now and there isn't an inch that she sees as a flaw. She knows that she will not always think so. That they will find each other's flaws. Hecate is too rigid. Pippa is perhaps too malleable. They are both too headstrong. It will cause disagreements, but they will navigate them as best they can and come to some sort of equilibrium. Those are thoughts for another day though. 

Hecate traces a pattern over Pippa's skin, a sigil for protection, but without the intent necessary to actually cast the spell. It isn't something they teach their students at Cackle's and it's fallen out of favor enough that she doubts they teach it at Pentangle's either. Hecate only knows the art, and it is an art more than a science, because Broomhead insisted she study all manner of obscure magic. She may reject Broomhead's methods, her very philosophy, but she will not give up everything that she learned under her tutelage. So Hecate moves from one pattern to another, etching her care and her love invisibly into Pippa's skin. 

"Whatever happens with us, your body will haunt mine," Hecate says. 

"What's that?" Pippa asks. 

"Part of a poem I just remembered. I don't know where I read it. Maybe university." Hecate shakes her head. "Whatever happens with us, your body will haunt mine—tender, delicate your lovemaking, like the half-curled frond of the fiddlehead fern in forests just washed by sun," she recites. "There's more, but…" Hecate shakes her head. She can't remember the rest. She is not the kind of person to recite poetry after lovemaking, but apparently, with Pippa she is. With Pippa, she is many things that she otherwise wouldn't be. 

Hecate props herself up on one arm and looks down at Pippa. "You are becoming everything to me."

"You were always my everything," Pippa admits. "Even as teenagers."

Hecate sucks in a breath as if she's been punched in the stomach. She finally begins to fathom just what Pippa lost when she pulled herself away, when she spurned Pippa's affection. Certainly, Hecate had lost something as well, but at least she had known why. Pippa never had the benefit of Hecate's flawed logic to comfort her or the rigor of Hecate's studies with Broomhead to distract her. 

"I'm sorry," Hecate says. She offers no further explanation. They have already been over and over Hecate's actions that day and Pippa insists she has forgiven Hecate. They would not be in bed together if Pippa had not forgiven her. But still, Hecate will never stop feeling like she has to apologize. 

Pippa cups Hecate's face and pulls her in for a kiss. "You're forgiven," Pippa repeats against Hecate's lips. Hecate believes her but it will never be enough. 

Hecate sighs and pushes herself further up onto her hip. "You wanted to get out of bed?" she asks as she goes to stand. Pippa's hand on her arm stops her. 

"I've changed my mind." Pippa tugs on Hecate's arm and Hecate acquiesces as Pippa pushes her onto her back and stretches out in Hecate's arms. "The real world can wait a while longer. For now, I want to stay here with you."

"Alright," Hecate says as she settles Pippa more comfortably against her. "I'll stay as long as you want."

"Forever then?"

"Forever then."

**Author's Note:**

> The poem is by Adrienne Rich and you can read its entire loveliness here: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/twenty-one-love-poems-floating-poem-unnumbered
> 
> I highly recommend it. I fully believe that university Hecate secretly devoured lesbian poetry.
> 
> Comments mean the world to me.
> 
> I'm on tumblr @twtd11 and twitter @twtd


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